Teachers’ overall job satisfaction is shifting in a positive direction, according to Education Week’s Teacher Morale Index, a year-over-year, multifaceted gauge of how teachers feel about the profession.
In the 2024-25 school year, the national Teacher Morale Index is +18 on a scale of -100 to +100, suggesting that teachers, overall, view their jobs more positively than negatively. That score is a significant climb from last year’s -13.
The Teacher Morale Index, developed by the EdWeek Research Center, measures teachers’ levels of confidence and enthusiasm about their work based on responses to three survey questions that were part of a larger, nationally representative poll fielded among more than 2,500 teachers last fall.
While the overall measure of +18 presents an improving picture nationally, morale levels look quite different depending on the state teachers are working in. That’s why the EdWeek Research Center’s survey of teachers last fall set out to capture representative samples of educators in all 50 states. We wanted to show the variability in the state-specific findings in order for district and school leaders, along with policymakers, to better understand the mood of their teacher workforces closer to home.
The state-level findings show a spread of +47 at the high end to -14 on the low end. While the differences in morale by state are striking, the findings don’t explain why teachers in Georgia, for example, have much higher morale than their peers in New Hampshire.
In the charts below, see how teacher morale in each state compares to the overall Teacher Morale Index score, and explore how morale in each state looks compared to others. View detailed findings on what teachers in different states say about key factors that shape how they feel about their jobs.
(For more information about the Teacher Morale Index and the EdWeek Research Center’s methodology, scroll to the end of this article.)
The Teacher Morale Index, in all 50 states
Click the tabs to view the Teacher Morale Index score for every state, and to see which states score above and below the national average of +18.
What would make teacher morale better?
The factors shaping teachers’ morale—specifically the types of changes that could make their satisfaction levels improve—do vary depending on where teachers live and work. In its survey of teachers, the EdWeek Research Center asked about several key components of teachers’ working conditions to shed light—both nationally and at the state level—on the types of policies and practices that could be adopted, adjusted, or abandoned to improve job satisfaction.
In the charts below, explore overall findings and compare results at the state level. (Note: Results are not available for every state on some questions.)
Other than a pay raise, what type of change would be most likely to improve your morale at work?
What changes to school leadership would improve your morale at work a lot? Select all that apply.
Select all that apply. My morale at work would improve a lot if my district/school hired more:
What scheduling shifts would improve your morale at work a lot? Select all that apply.
How school climate and culture changes could improve teacher morale
Explore how teachers nationally and across different states say their morale would improve with changes to policies around class sizes, student discipline, and cellphone use.
How—if at all—would the following rules/policies impact your morale at work?
How changes to instructional and pedagogical priorities could improve teacher morale
Explore how teachers nationally and across different states view the relationship between improving morale and policies that impact how they teach, what they teach, and what subjects are emphasized.
In order to improve your morale, does your school need to emphasize the following curricular/pedagogical approaches less or more?
About the Teacher Morale Index
The Teacher Morale Index provides a broad, 360-degree view of teachers’ prior, present, and predicted perceptions of their workplace conditions and experiences. The Index, which is based on three survey questions that first appeared on the 2023-24 The State of Teaching survey—and were asked again on the 2024-25 survey—is scored on a scale of -100 to +100, with negative scores indicating lower morale and positive scores indicating higher morale.
By combining data on teachers’ views about their past, current, and future morale into a single score, the index provides a unique perspective on their levels of optimism or pessimism at work.
The indicator can be tracked over time to reveal changes in future years and disaggregated to identify differences in scores by teaching assignment/subject taught, race/ethnicity, years of teaching experience, or other characteristics.
Calculating the Teacher Morale Index
Teachers responding to the 2024-25 State of Teaching Survey were asked to select one of three answer options in response to each of the three questions listed below: a negative response assigned a value of -100 points, a neutral response assigned a value of 0, or a positive response assigned a value of +100. Points for each of the three survey questions were averaged for each respondent to generate a score ranging from -100 to +100.
1. Compared to one year ago, my morale at work right now is:
- Worse (-100 points)
- The same (0 points)
- Better (+100 points)
2. Right now, my morale at work is:
- Mostly bad (-100 points)
- Equally good and bad (0 points)
- Mostly good (+100 points)
3. One year from now, I expect my morale at work will be:
- Worse (-100 points)
- The same (0 points)
- Better (+100 points)
